Figure wheel toy



July 29|, 1924. 1,502,758

J. VILLANI FIGURE WHEEL TOY Filed omg s, 1922 INVENTOR Villani ATTORNEYPatented `luly 29, 1924.

taaie JOSEPH VILLANI, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FGURE WHEEL TOY.

Application led October 3, 1922. Serial llTo. 592,001.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Josnrrr ViLLANi, citizen of the United Sta-tes andresident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Figure Wheel Toys, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to toys, and the main object is to provide aligure wheel toy which can easily be propelled by a child while walkingand is designed to afford an entertaining and instructive toy for thechild.

Another object is to provide animal figures upon the toy which areattached to the rear wheels which cause the said figures to move forwardand rearward as if leaping or jumping forward. The toy as mentioned isof greatest amusement to a child and also concentrates attention of thechild as the action of the figures which imitate realistic movements ofan animal.

These and other objects will become apparent in the description below,in which characters of reference refer to like-named parts in thedrawing.

Referring briefly to the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevational View ofthe toy showing the position of the animal figures preparatory for aleap.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same showing the means for supportingsaid figures.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the toy with the near figureremoved to show the guide.

Describing the drawing in detail, the numeral 1 indicates a relativelylong rectangular body which is solidly formed, and is cut into a curve 2Vbetween the front wheels 3 and the rear wheels 4. The face of thewheels have spirals 5 painted thereon, which are designed to enhance theattractiveness of the toy. The forward end of the body has a verticalrecess 6 in which the lower end of a handle or bar 7 is pivoted on a pin8. Said handle is of a suitable length to permit the toy to be easilymanoeuvered by a child while walking.

The shafts 9 upon which the front and rear wheels are mounted, arepreferablyy fixed to the wheels and rotatable within the body. The crankpins 10 on the rear wheels are fixed diametrically opposite each otherso that when the crank pin on one wheel is at the highest point, thecrank pin on the opposite rear wheel will be at the lowest point. Thisvariation in the position of the crank pin with respect to each otherremains fixed.

A plate member 11 is secured centrally to the upper surface of the body,preferably by screws 12, and has upwardly bent sides which form sidewalls 13 which extend the entire length of the'plate. Horizontal slots14 are formed in said side walls and provide yguides for the movablefigures which will be more fullyhereinafter described. The figuresindicated by the numerals 15 and 16 are preferably made of wood and arefully formed on their exterior sides so as to appear realistic. Thefront and rear legs 17 and 18 respectively are fully extended, and theears 19 are shown lying close to the body, it being intended to portraya hare in full galloping position.

The figures have studs 2() extending thru their bodies and project fromtheir adjacent sides. Said studs ride in the slots 14C and providemovable pivots. The hind leg 18 of each ligure is secured to the crankpin 10 on the corresponding rear wheel l.

.As the toy is propelled forward in the direction indicated by thearrow, by pulling on the handle bar 7, the front and rear wheels willrotate, and the rear wheels in so doing will cause the figures toalternately spring forward in the semblance of a leap. This leapingact-ion is accomplished by having the hind legs attached to the crankpins 10. When the crank pin is at top center, and the wheel rotatedforwardly, the figure will turn its nose upwardly as if beginning aleap, and the body of the figure will slide forward, as the pin isguided thus in the slot 111. /Vlien Vthe crank pin is at the lower deadcenter the .figure is tilted to the maximum and the action is thenreversed. The crank pins are mounted on the rear wheels dianietricallyopposite each other. The iigures will therefore alternately springforward in a. rythmic manner, the number of leaps made dependingentirely upon the distance travelled.

A figure wheel toy comprising a longitudinal body, front and rear wheelssupporting said body, a plate rigidly secured to said body intermediateits length, side walls on said body formed by bending saidlplate Kparallel to its longitudinal edges, horizontal slots in said side walls,a crank pin in each rear Wheel positioned diametrically opposite eachother,-anirnal figures, pins projecting frornthe rear face of saidfigure, said pins being located intermediate the length of said figures,the pins being slidably sei cured in the slots of the side Walls, thehind legs of said figures being secured to the crank pins of the rearWheels, said rear wheels when rotated being adapted to tilt both ends ofthe figures alternately. 10

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York.

JOSEPH VILLANI.

